Apparatus for treating cottonseed and the like for planting purposes



July 15, JACKSON 2,603,552

APPARATUS FOR TREATING COTTONSEED AND v THE LIKE FOR PLANTING PURPOSES Filed July 26, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET l IN VEN TOR. Lloyd H Jackson July 15, 1952 L. H. JACKSON 2,603,552

APPARATUS FOR TREATING COTTONSEED AND THE LIKE FOR PLANTING PURPOSES Filed July 26, 1949 I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IN V EN TOR. L/oy H Jack-ion Patented July 15, 1952 UNIT ES AND 'IHE-xLIKEiiFOR-TLANTING PURPOSES! I Lloyd H. Jackson, Vernon, Ta;-

My invention'relates to an improved-machine for -delinting and sterilizingicottonseed' and thelike priortothe planting thereof. I v

The .delintingof cottonseed prior to planting-U by the useofdryhydrochloric acid-in gas form/5, andthe application of heat; is practised for the I purpose "of improvinggermination,- increasing 1 yield shortening -the'germination period and the time required for maturity and-necessitatingtheuse mofonly one half-the usual amount of seed: per acre. -The purpose-ofi thisprocess isto. de--.--' stroy or remove seed-borne-bacteria andfungiof plant-borne diseases, the: seed-borne spores of mold causingseedstodecay ,'-t0 controLthe seed-.1 borne fungi-causing:cottoncseedlingsuto damp off-c11 and resulting in-itheloss'of 'squaresand-bolls laterin the season from-r anthracnose;.- angular leaf 1 spot,'boll--rot, bacterial blight or otherseed-borne I diseases of COttOIL-mA further purposeof the Igas -w andheat treatment istodestroy or control see,d;= borneinsect pests, their eggs; larvae; andpupae, by applying -such gasr. and heat under;;pressure While theseeds 'are: agitated in a closedechambera or container. v H

The devices of the prior" art, however; while carrying on the 'aboveprocess', have; proven ineflective to a high; degree due I to the injury re- Ceived by good seeds the-;machines used rfor I the purposeras; Well as to the difi'iculties encoun: tered inxthe mechanical-operation of the appa 3O ratus. I I

One object-of my'invention is toprovide a de-- vice which will avoid one or more of the disadvantages of theiprior: art; 2

Another object of my invention is the provision of an apparatus which=is.easilyccontrollable, adequate in its operations-whichwill-,avoid over-- heating and excessive gas treatmentqof theseeds I and which will improve the qualityand germination of the seeds under treatmenttherein.

Furtheriobjects of my invention will become ea evident as the.featuresioficonstruction and'lthei arrang'ementzof the parts. are :deyeloped inflithis. specification; and. as they. .are: specifically illusi-x; I trated': "the accompanying. drawings in which :i

Figureal'v is wa -side eley.ation..of;' the apparatus; also fillustratinglantilteds positionythereof; c

Figure 2.is aright-handsviewrof Figure 1; vt

Figure 3 is a left-handyiew. of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a partial sectional view of the righthand side of the apparatus;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary illustration of the means employed for securing some of the parts; and

Application Iuly-"26-, 1949,Serial -No'. 106;944' f 'j 40mins '(o1.21-93),

Figure T is a partial sectionalz-view of-therlefta hand-side'jof the"apparatus."'- i I A In these drawings numeral- I represents a'cy;-.- lindr-ica'l drum having a; cone-shaped extension 2 at ithe left end'thereof; f The I drum and- "its extensions-form: aichamberfl heated exteriorly-with a suitableegas such-as natural gas-or butane by means iota burneriizf The drum I. is mounted in atiltirrg. trammkcarried .on trunnions-i- 5 se-.- curedin astationary-frame 6; *Ihis"arra'nge-- ment-vpermitss'the"frame-4 tovtilt about the;trun,- I nions' 5;"517lto an angle of 30" in order; to empty theicontents of the druml The 'ftiltingaof the drum' is accomplished by meanszofi a'hydra'uliclift generally indicated at r I and :;consisting of a? cylinder 1 and plunger i the plunger-irod' "I." of which is provided at-its 0u t- Ward end with rollers 'I" contacting extension-- fluidlisvfdt'o the; cylinder efthe hydraulicliftthrough1pipe-:P-,:the plunger, :rod ,1 :is forced outwardlypthe rollers?! pushupwardly'a ainstthe Y memb'ersnlll fdrcinggthe; frame :4 :to*pivot about=- the!trunnions;5 ,:5: to tilt theframe and the drum I to the sdesirediangle of 30, Admissionandex haustwof the pressure-"fluid toandf-rom the hy-- draulic l-ift'areu-controlled by'means'of the com-I; monly knownithree-way valve.-:- V I The fdrumzslrandvits conical extension 2 are supported.:in ;b'earingsv8, 8'- respectively: -Thee I drum isiloadedwith the; seeds to be-treated at itsllghtfhandf'l'ldiby' means iof an auger-type loading rmachine,-i.preferablyi though it canbe loadeda by 113;1'1611'1'1116 right-ihand end of' the drum-l has": a "closure 9' and. the :left-hand end has its own .closureaI'lJz \EBoth' closures are of the'snap-on typesandi theyic'onsistzof;.for ;the left-handend'or dischargei'en'd'; rthe aplatevI-O, yoke '35; handwheel andv'screwe3B, fretainingicollarlfifi, gasket 38 and retainingiplate 3.1; z'Ih'e:,-screw- 3B' Works in'anut: 36" welded to the yoke 35 and isconstrained-w; from:movingflongitudinally. due to the headQHJ thereon: enclosedriwithina :hollowspacezin collar-1 39. The rightehaiidi'or loadinggend of the drum I consists ofithelplatess adapted to betightenedz. againsttheiendof the drumibyimeans of b01ts:3l1;.;r v 30 having handles-A, A's integral trth'erewith :a't one" end thereof and headsziB,1 -B' at thezoppositet end. These bolts hook over, lugs 3I, 3I' welded to the drum I and enable the plate '9 to be tightened against the drum. A gasket 32 of hard rubber is located between the plate 9 and the open end of the drum I to insure air tightness. Plate 5 33 holds gasket 32 in proper position. A collar 34 is secured at the end of gas pipe I 4 extendin within chamber l by means of a set screw 34.

Normally, the so-called snap-on head is picked up by hand, placed against the right-hand end of the machined end of the drum l, rotated slightly so that the bolts 30, 30' catch on the lugs 3|, *3! and are tightened down to the desired tightness. To remove this snap-on head, the

bolts- 30, 3Uar'e loosened, the head rotated's lighb ly and lifted away from the apparatus.

Reverting to the bearings '8, 8', it will be noted that they consist of an outer shell S, containin a babbitt or other suitable soft bearing metal S', I resting directly upon the shell of drum I, there" being provided sight-feed oilers feeding oil .to the bearing passages P.

. The drum or shell I is rotated 'at-a speed of g about 30 R. P. M. by means of a motor havin its base B secured to thetiltable framed so that itwill tilt with the said frame. The shaft of the motor is provided with a sheave IS on which a driving belt 11 is driven, this belt also driving a pulley l8 'mounted on a shaft 20. This shaft 2!]: carries a sprocket wheel I9, provided with a roller "chain sprocket 22 driving another sprocket wheel 2 I, the hub of which is machined out and welded to a hub extension E onthe right-. hand end of the drum I. This arrangement j allows for a 'positive drive without theusual shaft extending through the drum'and possessesjthe added advantage of allowing for the'unimpeded loading and unloading of the apparatus through a relatively small opening in'the exact center of the machine. The bearings 8, 8' located respectively at the loading end and the dumpingend of the machine, carry the weight 'of the drum I and associated parts allowing for the function described.

- Normally, the'seeds are fed to the'chamber I after thejright-hand end snap-on head has been removed; and while the drum 1 is in horizontal position. The head is then put in place and the drum is rotated through'the 'motor I5 and .its

associated driving parts'for a period of from 7 to -minutes and the pressurewithin the drum is kept from slightly atmospheric to two atmospheres. During this time hydrogen chlorid gas is supplied to chamber I' through gas hose and connections l|, I2 and. At the same time the shell I is heated by means of the heater 3, which is secured to the tilting frame 6, at "a temperature varying from to F. At' the end of the desired period of rotation, theleft-hand end snap-on head'isremovedfthe hydraulic lift its a energized tof raise the drumfl to 'a tilt of about 30 together with its frame' l. It will be noted that during this tilting movement the driving motor I5iand the gas heater or burner 3 tiltwith theframe 4 which revolves about the trunnions 5, 5. In this position, the treated seeds :are dumped from the drum 1 while the latter-continues to rotate. V 4 i The; 'construction and operation of the apparatus of this invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing'description.

In closing, it is pointed out that the gland" structure of the right-hand end snap-on head i 1 com rises a packin gland l 3' secured to thehead 9 by "means-of the bolts 29, 29. The movable rod 21 in a slot 21 provided in a suitable bracket 28 secured to the tilting frame 4.

It will be appreciated that the conical shape of the portion 2 of drum! assists greatly in emptying thecontents of the said drum when tiltedatlthe end of the treatment of the seeds.

H Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

Anapparatus for delinting and sterilizing cotton seeds, comprising a stationary frame having a base and spaced-apart extensions protruding upwardly from the base, a second frame within the stationary frame'having a base and a pair of arms extending upwardly from :said' last men tioned base between the aforesaid extensions, pivot means between the extensions and the arms whereby the second frame may swing within the stationary frame, a pair of bearings carried by the base of the second frame at'each end thereof, an open-ended hollow shell adapted to receive seeds for'tr'eatment, means for admitting a gaswithin the shell, means for rotatably mounting the ends of'the shell within the aforesaid bearings, removable closures for the open ends of the shell, means for rotating the'shell within the bearings during treatment of the seeds, said means being mounted on the second frame, and

means for tilting said second frame and the shell about the pivot means, toremove the seeds by gravity from the shell when the closure at the lowermost end of the shell is removed.

2; An" apparatus as set forth inclaim 1, including a heater beneath said shell and motuited on the tilting frame and the means for introducing a gas within'the "shell extending through one of said closures.

3. An apparatus as s'et'forth in claim 1; wher'ein the means for rotatingtheshell comprise a motor mounted on the second rramaand driving connections between said motorand-the shell.

4. An apparatus as set forth'inclaim I, wherein the means for tilting'the frame comprise a r stationary motor and a movable element operated thereby and contacting'the' second frame."

REFERENCES CITED 7 The following references are of recordin'the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number V Name 249,978 Palmer Nov. 22, 1881 678,411 Lessing July 16, 1901 1,073,945 Warner Sept. 23,1913" 1,123,877 -S Hill Jan. 5,:1915' 1,602,576: Gant' 0013.12, 1926 1,633,301 Williams June21, 1927' 2,112,159 Jackson Mar.' 22, 1938 2,447,606 .Wine Aug. 24. 1948 LLovnH. JAoKsoN. I 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR DELINTING AND STERILIZING COTTON SEEDS, COMPRISING A STATIONARY FRAME HAVING A BASE AND SPACED-APART EXTENSIONS PROTRUDING UPWARDLY FROM THE BASE, A SECOND FRAME WITHIN THE STATIONARY FRAME HAVING A BASE AND A PAIROF ARMS EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID LAST MEMTIONED BASE BETWEEN THE AFORESAID EXTENSIONS PIVOT MEANS BETWEEN THE EXTENSIONS AND THE ARMS WHEREBY THE SECOND FRAME MAY SWING WITHIN THE STATIONARY FRAME, A PAIR OF BEARINGS CARRIED BY THE BASE OF THE SECOND FRAME AT EACH AND THEREOF AN OPEN-ENDED HOLLOW SHELL ADAPTED TO RECEIE SEEDS FOR TREATMENT, MEANS FOR ADMITTING A GAS WITHIN THE SHELL, MEANS FOR ROTATABLY MOUNTING THE ENDS OF THE SHELL WITHIN THE AFORESAID BEARINGS, REMOVABLE CLOSURES FOR THE OPEN ENDS OF THE SHELL, MEANS FOR ROTATING THE SHELL WITHIN THE BEARINGS DURING TREATMENT OF THE SEEDS, SAID MEANS BEING MOUNTED ON THE SECOND FRAME, AND MEANS FOR TILTING SAID SECOND FRAME AND THE SHELL ABOUT THE PIVOT MEANS, TO REMOVE THE SEEDS BY GRAVITY FROM THE SHELL WHEN THE CLOSURE AT THE LOWERMOST END OF THE SHELL IS REMOVED. 